Justice Verma's family refuses to accept Padma Bhushan

The UPA government at the Centre suffered some embarrassment on Thursday when the family of former Chief Justice of India, Late J S Verma, refused to accept the Padma Bhushan awarded posthumously on the eve of Republic Day. [caption id=“attachment_646116” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Justice JS Verma. Pic:ibnlive.com[/caption] Verma’s wife Pushpa reportedly sent a letter to President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday stating they would not want to accept what they know “Justice Verma himself would not have accepted”. The family is reportedly unhappy that the government chose to honour him with only a Padma Bhushan. According to a report in The Indian Express, she has written she does not think it “appropriate” to accept the award on his behalf as he “never hankered or lobbied for any acclaim, reward or favour". Earlier on Thursday, former Delhi High Court Chief Justice Rajindar Sachar criticised the Centre for belittling Verma by awarding him the Padma Bhushan and not the Padma Vibhushan. “The insensitivity of bureaucracy is legion,” he had said. Verma had headed the three-member committee set up by the government in the aftermath of the 16 December, 2012 gangrape in Delhi. The committee’s report paved the way for changes in criminal law to ensure speedy justice to victims of sex crimes. He died in April last year.